Capital', wrote Pierre Bourdieu, 'represents a power over the field . . . The kinds of capital, like aces in a game of cards, are powers that define the chances of profit in a particular field . . . ' (1985: 724). For Bourdieu (1986b), capital is a generalized resource, which may be monetary or non-monetary in form, tangible or intangible. The four aces in the pack of cards to which Bourdieu refers are economic, cultural, social and symbolic capital (1986b). The power that these afford, however, is not stable and static; capital formation is an on-going, dynamic process, subject to accumulation or attrition. Like a game of cards, the hand which players are dealt must still be played -with greater or lesser skill, and to greater or lesser effect. Some individuals are endowed with significantly better life chances than others; although the patterns of social class formation are looser in present times than in the past, economic class divisions continue to exercise a considerable impact on life chances (Scott, 2002). That said, none of this is entirely deterministic. Human agency and responsibility continue to matter -career success is not preordained, although successful people still use their allotted capital to best effect, as Laird (2006) amply demonstrates. One condition of success, however, according to Bourdieu (1991), for all those who are privileged to play, is investment in the game itself, a recognition that the game, a priori, is worth playing. This unspoken contract unites all participants, fundamentally committed to and respectful of the game and its stakes.The purpose of this article is twofold. On the one hand, it explores capital theory, studying the typology of forms of capital possessed by elite directors, drawing in particular on the work of Pierre Bourdieu. On the other, it examines the dynamics of elite business networking by directors in Britain and France. Bourdieu's ideas on capital theory are brought to life by empirical data from a comparative study on business elites in both countries. We are particularly interested in questions related to the reproduction and regeneration of business elites. How do business elites reproduce and regenerate themselves, in spite of the fact that their membership is constantly changing? What qualifies someone for membership of an elite business group, and how do newcomers gain acceptance? How does an ambitious individual acquire and display the capabilities and behavioural characteristics that mark him or her out as suitable material for recruitment? We focus here on some of the newcomers who were part of our